The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."

Monday, June 10, 2013

Why we Need to Protect Ourselves

by Zalman Shoval

The stated task
assigned to Gen. John Allen, U.S. President Barack Obama's special envoy
on security matters in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, who
visited Israel last month, was to formulate an American "security net"
for Israel in any future permanent-status agreement with the
Palestinians. In other words: to convince Israel to make concessions on
the issue of the 1967 borders.

These American
attempts, while not contrary to Israel's diplomatic and security
interests in and of themselves, are something of a prelude for a future
American peace plan that would include the presence of an international
military force in the West Bank and Jordan Valley. It should be
remembered that Gen. James Jones, who was tasked with a similar mission
by former President George W. Bush, suggested an outline based on
stationing American and NATO troops, as well as other international
soldiers (such as the U.N.) along the borders of the future Palestinian
state.

Then-Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert indeed conceded -- including during his talks with
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas -- Israel's military
presence in the Jordan Valley. Current Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, however, rejected such proposals outright, insisting that the
security threat such a plan would pose to Israel was too great.

In Israel's view, since
signing the Camp David Accords with Egypt in 1978, the most basic
condition for any peace agreement with the Palestinians has been the
operational freedom of its security forces in the West Bank. While the
American security ideas touch primarily on preventing violent acts
inside and from the Palestinian territories, for Israel the matter is
much more complex and far-reaching, namely that without an Israeli
military presence on the ground the Palestinian entity could ally
itself, actively or passively, with other countries or terrorist
organizations seeking to attack Israel.

The history of
international troops in our region has vacillated between the farcical
and tragic. It is a history highlighted by the panicked withdrawal of
U.N. troops from the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza in 1967, by Hezbollah
terrorists entrenching themselves in southern Lebanon in contradiction
to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, and by the incessant
kidnapping of U.N. troops currently stationed on the Golan Heights.

There are reservations
about NATO as well. It is not a cohesive fighting force and its soldiers
do not directly answer to their own countries' military headquarters or
governments. We must imagine a scenario in which Turkish soldiers are
tasked with protecting Israel. Secondly, there would always be a
question as to the extent these soldiers would be willing to risk their
lives in our defense.

Meanwhile, as has been
insinuated, if the main fighting force is American, would Israel really
want U.S. soldiers to spill blood in our defense? We haven't even
discussed the other potential conflicts with the U.S. that could stem
from differing opinions on security matters. International forces,
either NATO or U.N., could also limit the Israel Defense Forces'
operational freedom in other areas.

According to
unconfirmed American sources, the possibility of stationing Jordanian or
Palestinian troops along the Jordan River is being weighed, although
such a proposal is unworthy of even a second glance.

As long as the Palestinians, despite U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry's efforts, continue sabotaging the chances
for a renewal of peace talks, it is unlikely that any understandings on
security matters will ever reach a practical stage. Netanyahu did well
to make Israel's principle of "protecting ourselves on our own" very
clear, starting with, perhaps most importantly, on our own borders.